Balloon Fight is a later first generation Nintendo game released for the Famicom. It arrived in the U.S. shortly after the NES launched. Balloon Fight can best be compared to the classic arcade game Joust. The player and his enemies float about the sky, holding helium balloons. Just as in Joust, in a game of kill or be killed, it's height that determines the winner.
Balloon Fight's core game play may borrow much from Joust, but there are enough wrinkles added to the game to make it interesting. There are different stage layouts, a wide open lake in the middle with a very hungry fish waiting for anyone, friend or foe, to get too close, and in later stages, clouds let loose bursts of lightning which launches an electric spark that bounces around and kills instantly. After every three rounds, you were treated to a bonus stage. And if you ever got bored with the Joust-like gameplay, there was an alternate game on the cartridge called Balloon Trip that had you collecting balloons while avoiding sparks along an automatically scrolling scene over the ocean.
Balloon Fight is fondly remembered as a fun title by many NES aficionados. It was released in the arcades as part of Nintendo's Vs. arcade series, entitled Vs. Balloon Fight where it featured levels that were twice as high which scrolled vertically. The console game also inspired a handheld Nintendo Game & Watch version. An off shoot of the series was released on the Game Boy entitled Balloon Kid. Balloon Fight was later released on the Game Boy Advance as part of the e-Reader card series, and then once again in Japan as part of the Famicom Mini series. It is also used as the backdrop theme for the Touch mode in Tetris DS. Balloon Fight can also be played in Animal Crossing, as an NES game placed in your home. In 2007 it was released on the Wii Virtual Console. In 2012 it was released for the 3DS Virtual Console. In 2013 it was released on the Wii U Virtual Console.
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American box artwork.
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Game Boy Advance Famicom Mini.
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Game Boy Advance e-Reader.
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Title screen
Story
Your player is in a fight for survival and dominance over the sky. Pop the enemies balloons before they pop yours and live to fight in another round. The enemies are determined to rid you from the night sky, and employ their entire army against you.
Table of Contents
Gameplay summary
- You control the player with the control pad. Press
to flap your arms once, and press 
to flap your arms continuously. - When the player and an enemy collide, the person who is highest pops the balloon of the other.
- Popping an enemy's balloon causes them to open a parachute. Hit the parachute for bonus points.
- If an enemy successfully lands on the ground, kick them off or they will launch with another balloon, potentially faster and smarter.
- You must eliminate all enemies in order to advance to the next stage.
- Avoid having both of your balloons popped by the enemy, as well as dropping in the water, getting eaten by the fish, and touching a lightning spark.
- Every fourth round is a bonus round. Collect all of the balloons for bonus points.
- In Balloon Trip, the screen scrolls left automatically. Stay in the air, collect all of the balloons, and avoid the sparks.
